*** 2014-2015 BASKETBALL SEASON RECAP *** (part three)
Apr 10, 2015 18:06:05 GMT
Post by Admin on Apr 10, 2015 18:06:05 GMT
*** 2014-2015 BASKETBALL SEASON RECAP *** (part three)
SEC-T; N.I.T.; ...predictions for next season will be in part four later
SEC-T
Needing at least one win to feel safe about an invitation to the N.I.T., the young Dores went to the other side of midtown for a Bridgestone arena game against the rotten orange who finished the season in a tailspin, had a coach on the verge of being fired, and were going nowhere fast. But Vandy's history at Bridgestone is not so pretty. Losses to Western Kentucky and MTSU dot the landscape at 5th & Broad. Up a dozen with 6 minutes remaining, it seems this group of young Dores had shaken the Bridgestone jinx. Unfortunately, the jinx would come back to bite them worse than usual. The ugly rotten orange finished the game on a hard to explain 20-2 run to pull it out. This left talk of VU's people at the top having to politic and campaign their worthiness to the N.I.T. selection powers. All-SEC wing player Josh Richardson had 15 of his 22 for the rotten orange in the second half in what would be his last college win. Without him, VU would have swept all three against the evil ones to the east this season. Turnovers and missed free throws kept Vandy from pulling this one out late. 23% from three and 64% from the line is just bad enough to lose a winnable game and so it happened. VU led for 34:12 and the game was tied for an even three minutes. This one hurt, but especially if it kept the Dores out of the N.I.T and so the waiting game ensued, complete with watching in horror as mid-major regular season runaway champions (cough-cough Murray) fell in league championship games, dropping them into automatic N.I.T. seeds that could potentially bounce VU off the N.I.T. bubble. However, as teams such as UCLA snuck their way into the big dance, the N.I.T. found a place for VU... around 2000 miles from West End Ave.
N.I.T. game at St. Mary's
Forget the grim predictions about how tough of a little gym St. Mary's has for visitors to play in, how it would be packed with a rowdy home crowd, and how VU would be fortunate to get out of there with a win. The gym was indeed small and so was the "crowd" of around 1,000 basketball fans (some of which were actually Vandy fans residing in the Bay area). After trailing by eight early and giving the miniscule St. Mary's cheering section a reason to be excited, Vandy methodically erased the deficit and put the small local gathering squarely seated on their hands for the majority of the night. Jeff Roberson got extended minutes during Damian Jones foul dificulty and Shelton Mitchell's quick rim-runs caught St. Mary's off guard. Defense would be key, holding the home team to only 64 points because 24% from three and getting outrebounded on the road is not the usual recipe for a big win. If any one element should have been MVP for the game, it would have had to be team defense. Also give credit to Baldwin;s four consecutive late free throw which were the final nail in the coffin.
N.I.T. game at Memorial Gym vs. South Dakota State
Home. Home again. I like to be here... when I can.
Could Pink Floyd have envisioned this game or is it just a coincidence, like the "Wizard of Oz - Dark Side of the Moon" thing? Probably just a coincidence, but this was indeed one of the most exciting home games in a long time. General admission seating brought all the most die-hard Commodore fans downstairs or at least no higher than the second level for an atmosphere that was electric. Never mind that the opponents were nicknamed the Jack Rabbits. They were actually a pretty good team and stormed out of the locker room to take an early second half lead to quiet the home crowd. The gray and neon "Oregon football" style uniforms got mixed reviews from the fans, but from reliable reports, the players were stoked to have them on. To match the day-glow lettering and numbers, Fisher-Davis put on a shooting display from deep that could glow in the dark. This was key after LaChance had to take a seat with an early fourth foul. The Commodores hit 18 of 22 shots in the second half for an 81.8 percent clip after connecting on just 38.5 percent in the first 20 minutes. As good as Fisher-Davis was, Wade Baldwin turned in a sparkling performance of 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists... just missing a rare triple double.
N.I.T game at Stanford
No rest for the weary. Stanford gained another home game after a questionable home-cooked win over Rhode Island where the Cardinal shot 49 free throws to Rhode Island's 21. There was no way anybody else could get screwed by local Pac-12 officials after the publicity generated by the 49 free throws of the previous game... right? Not so fast my friend. In game reminiscent of a SEC officiated screw-job a team might get at... oh, I don't know... maybe Rupp Arena, VU had to battle not only five good Stanford players on the floor, three guys in striped shirts with whistles. You may notice the lack of griping over officiating in parts one and two recaps. It has to be pretty bad to be a major story in a game and twice in a row, it certainly didn't hurt Stanford...TWICE in two games. Vandy was without Luke Kornet for the final eleven minutes after he was clobbered in the face by an out of control Stanford player driving to the rim. (By the way, Stanford was 16-3 at home after this game compared to 6-10 on the road... wonder how THAT happens?) Vandy shot 48% from three and 81% from the free throw line and seemed to be the better, even if younger, team and was clearly more deserving of the trip to NYC. Stanford ended up winning the N.I.T. over a tough but injury depleted Miami team. People joked that the refs should have handed them the trophy after the final whistle.
Stay tuned for PART FOUR - predictions for the future
SEC-T; N.I.T.; ...predictions for next season will be in part four later
SEC-T
Needing at least one win to feel safe about an invitation to the N.I.T., the young Dores went to the other side of midtown for a Bridgestone arena game against the rotten orange who finished the season in a tailspin, had a coach on the verge of being fired, and were going nowhere fast. But Vandy's history at Bridgestone is not so pretty. Losses to Western Kentucky and MTSU dot the landscape at 5th & Broad. Up a dozen with 6 minutes remaining, it seems this group of young Dores had shaken the Bridgestone jinx. Unfortunately, the jinx would come back to bite them worse than usual. The ugly rotten orange finished the game on a hard to explain 20-2 run to pull it out. This left talk of VU's people at the top having to politic and campaign their worthiness to the N.I.T. selection powers. All-SEC wing player Josh Richardson had 15 of his 22 for the rotten orange in the second half in what would be his last college win. Without him, VU would have swept all three against the evil ones to the east this season. Turnovers and missed free throws kept Vandy from pulling this one out late. 23% from three and 64% from the line is just bad enough to lose a winnable game and so it happened. VU led for 34:12 and the game was tied for an even three minutes. This one hurt, but especially if it kept the Dores out of the N.I.T and so the waiting game ensued, complete with watching in horror as mid-major regular season runaway champions (cough-cough Murray) fell in league championship games, dropping them into automatic N.I.T. seeds that could potentially bounce VU off the N.I.T. bubble. However, as teams such as UCLA snuck their way into the big dance, the N.I.T. found a place for VU... around 2000 miles from West End Ave.
N.I.T. game at St. Mary's
Forget the grim predictions about how tough of a little gym St. Mary's has for visitors to play in, how it would be packed with a rowdy home crowd, and how VU would be fortunate to get out of there with a win. The gym was indeed small and so was the "crowd" of around 1,000 basketball fans (some of which were actually Vandy fans residing in the Bay area). After trailing by eight early and giving the miniscule St. Mary's cheering section a reason to be excited, Vandy methodically erased the deficit and put the small local gathering squarely seated on their hands for the majority of the night. Jeff Roberson got extended minutes during Damian Jones foul dificulty and Shelton Mitchell's quick rim-runs caught St. Mary's off guard. Defense would be key, holding the home team to only 64 points because 24% from three and getting outrebounded on the road is not the usual recipe for a big win. If any one element should have been MVP for the game, it would have had to be team defense. Also give credit to Baldwin;s four consecutive late free throw which were the final nail in the coffin.
N.I.T. game at Memorial Gym vs. South Dakota State
Home. Home again. I like to be here... when I can.
Could Pink Floyd have envisioned this game or is it just a coincidence, like the "Wizard of Oz - Dark Side of the Moon" thing? Probably just a coincidence, but this was indeed one of the most exciting home games in a long time. General admission seating brought all the most die-hard Commodore fans downstairs or at least no higher than the second level for an atmosphere that was electric. Never mind that the opponents were nicknamed the Jack Rabbits. They were actually a pretty good team and stormed out of the locker room to take an early second half lead to quiet the home crowd. The gray and neon "Oregon football" style uniforms got mixed reviews from the fans, but from reliable reports, the players were stoked to have them on. To match the day-glow lettering and numbers, Fisher-Davis put on a shooting display from deep that could glow in the dark. This was key after LaChance had to take a seat with an early fourth foul. The Commodores hit 18 of 22 shots in the second half for an 81.8 percent clip after connecting on just 38.5 percent in the first 20 minutes. As good as Fisher-Davis was, Wade Baldwin turned in a sparkling performance of 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists... just missing a rare triple double.
N.I.T game at Stanford
No rest for the weary. Stanford gained another home game after a questionable home-cooked win over Rhode Island where the Cardinal shot 49 free throws to Rhode Island's 21. There was no way anybody else could get screwed by local Pac-12 officials after the publicity generated by the 49 free throws of the previous game... right? Not so fast my friend. In game reminiscent of a SEC officiated screw-job a team might get at... oh, I don't know... maybe Rupp Arena, VU had to battle not only five good Stanford players on the floor, three guys in striped shirts with whistles. You may notice the lack of griping over officiating in parts one and two recaps. It has to be pretty bad to be a major story in a game and twice in a row, it certainly didn't hurt Stanford...TWICE in two games. Vandy was without Luke Kornet for the final eleven minutes after he was clobbered in the face by an out of control Stanford player driving to the rim. (By the way, Stanford was 16-3 at home after this game compared to 6-10 on the road... wonder how THAT happens?) Vandy shot 48% from three and 81% from the free throw line and seemed to be the better, even if younger, team and was clearly more deserving of the trip to NYC. Stanford ended up winning the N.I.T. over a tough but injury depleted Miami team. People joked that the refs should have handed them the trophy after the final whistle.
Stay tuned for PART FOUR - predictions for the future